Prep Baseball Report

2025 Georgia Preview: Pope Greyhounds


Prep Baseball Georgia
Staff

The 2025 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Georgia.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in the GHSA or GIAA state playoffs, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Georgia. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and by continuing our scheduled podcasts and releasing our preseason top-10 rankings in each GHSA classification and Power 25.

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state.

Each week we will be releasing our Players of the Week, updating the top-10 ranks in each GHSA classification, as well updating our Power 25 overall rankings. One thing, especially, you don’t want to miss are our scheduled podcasts with guests from across the state, as well as the recaps and previews of the big games we’re covering.

*Please note the information has been gathered from head coaches across the state, based on their replies to the questionnaire we distributed over this offseason.

High School: Pope Greyhounds
Head Coach: Chris Turco
Classification: GHSA Class 5A
Region: 6-5A
2024 Record (Finish): 27-15, State-Runner Up
No. of Returning Positional Starters: 7
Team Strengths: Overall depth at all positions.


TOP RETURNING PLAYERS 

  • 2025 SS/OF John Stuetzer, Florida State commit
  • 2025 OF Tanner Morneau, North Georgia commit
  • 2025 RHP Ethan Garrett, Georgia Southern commit
  • 2025 RHP/1B Matt Levinson, Young Harris commit
  • 2025 INF Matt Strydom 
  • 2026 C Drew Abney
  • 2026 LHP Nick Bobrowksi
  • 2026 SS/2B Kayden Campbell
  • 2026 LHP Ben Hill
  • 2026 RHP Jacob Israel

TOP UNDERCLASSMEN

  • 2027 INF/RHP Luke Winbush
  • 2027 C/2B Jensen Morneau
  • 2027 RHP/INF Parker Troughton 

TEAM OUTLOOK

Coach Chris Turco and Pope simply know how to win. 5 state championships in the 15 years, Final Four runs in each of the last 5 seasons, and the Greyhounds bring the roster to do it yet again in 2025. The dynamic senior SS/CF John Stuetzer returns to bring his elite hit/speed combo to pace the top of the lineup as well as being the defensive leader for this club at multiple positions. Two more seniors round out the outfield in OF Tanner Morneau, who is a prototype 2 hole for the club, armed with an all-fields approach and advanced feel for the strike zone that allow Stuetzer to run wild on the base paths and Matt Strydom brings solid power potential in a corner outfield role. The strides that sophomore 3B/C Luke Winbush made as a freshman last year were invaluable while also stacking that with a huge fall showing, and appear more than poised to fully breakout this spring. The uncommitted junior duo of C Drew Abney and SS Kayden Campbell will be major catalysts this spring for the Greyhounds providing much needed depth and upside in the lineup while filling major roles defensively. A couple of underclassmen that could find quality roles this spring are sophomores Jensen Morneau and Parker Troughton who both bring positional flexibility, with Troughton also having a chance in the bullpen. Pope returns three major arms to this staff with a host of depth behind it. Senior RHP Ethan Garrett brings his advanced four pitch to the top of the staff with LHP Nick Bobrowski and his tremendous ability to limit hard contact at the 2, giving Pope two quality starters to navigate a difficult region yet again. Senior RHP Matt Levinson was the top arm in the bullpen last year, and returns to fill that role once again while names like LHP Ben Hill and RHP Jacob Israel provide good depth. This senior class has a bitter taste in their mouth after finishing as the state runner-up the past two years and will be looking to end this spring the right way while continuing the winning legacy at Pope.


Find more information on the 2025 Pope program below:

+ Follow them on X: @pope_baseball
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Georgia, 2025 HS Team Previews


FOLLOW PREP BASEBALL GEORGIA THROUGHOUT THE SPRING

+ Prep Baseball Georgia on X
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+ Prep Baseball Georgia on Facebook

Upcoming Events

SHOWCASE DATE LOCATION
Preseason All-State: Underclass 1/18 Infinite Vision Sports Academy - Flowery Branch, Ga
Preseason All-State: Upperclass 1/19 Infinite Vision Sports Academy - Flowery Branch, Ga
East Georgia Rising Stars ID (2029 and 2030 grads) 2/1 Infinite Vision Sports Academy - Flowery Branch, Ga
LakePoint Rising Stars ID (2029 and 2030 grads) 2/17 LakePoint Sports


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